Ikea Economic Indicator Confirms European Debt Crisis

To measure the health of the global economy, economists look at all kinds of data points: the price of wheat, the price of gold, the price of soybeans, the price of cotton.

Add to that list, the price of Billy.

Analysts over at Bloomberg have compiled an index analyzing the price of Ikea’s Billy bookshelf in 13 euro-area countries relative to a global average.

The results:

The data suggest sluggish demand is containing prices across Europe.

Ikea slashed the price of its Billy bookshelves in Greece by 22 percent, underlining the impact of the nation’s austerity drive and sovereign-debt crisis on the country’s purchasing power.

Globally, the lowest prices were in France, Belgium and Spain, where the shelf unit cost $38.53, $44.88 and $44.95 respectively. The highest were in Israel, the Dominican Republic, Saudi Arabia and Australia, with prices of $85.77, $76.11, $73.33 and $71.58.

For Billy enthusiasts among us (and who isn’t?), it almost makes you wish the US would suffer a similar fate as our Greek counterparts.

Currently, the standard Billy is going for $49.99 on Ikea’s US website, compared to $44.95 in Greece.

No word yet on whether or not Bloomberg has created an index for the Ikea Flygel, Nybygge, or Malm, but we’ll keep you posted.